GLP-1 weight-loss drugs may be reshaping Black beauty ideals, article suggests
10 reported
A Guardian article published June 10, 2026, explores whether the growing use of GLP-1 weight-loss medications such as Ozempic and Mounjaro is reshaping beauty standards within Black communities across the diaspora. The author, who identifies as Sudanese, notes that these drugs were initially designed to manage type 2 diabetes and could offer revolutionary health benefits for Black communities facing higher diabetes risks. However, the author expresses concern that the drugs may threaten a cultural appreciation of fuller, curvy bodies that was once common in places like Sudan, where brides were sometimes fed pudding before weddings rather than dieting. The article reports that uptake of weight-loss drugs among Black people globally is highest in developing economies with growing middle classes, such as South Africa, Ghana, and Kenya, where the drugs are privately prescribed and associated with social mobility. The author cites a Kenyan influencer’s weight-loss journey and a Nairobi drug-taker who told the BBC that the trend has shifted from “big size” to “slim, tiny.” The article also notes that celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Serena Williams have used the drugs, with Williams starring in GLP-1 adverts for the telehealth company Ro and stating she was down 31 pounds. The author worries that the emerging beauty standard blends traditionally Black and white-coded features, such as a small waist and slim nose with full lips and augmented butts, and questions whether natural body variation is being abandoned.
What’s reported
The article discusses GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, which mimic a natural hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1.
The drugs were initially designed to manage type 2 diabetes by regulating blood sugar, slowing digestion, and reducing appetite.
The author is from Sudan and notes that diabetes is common in east Africa and parts of the Caribbean.
In Sudan, before weddings, mothers and grandmothers sometimes made a thick pudding to feed brides, the opposite of crash dieting.
Reports cited in the article suggest that majority-Black countries with increased weight-loss drug usage include South Africa, Ghana, and Kenya.
The drugs are privately prescribed and accessible only to the affluent, creating a class-based desirability.
A weight-loss drug-taker in Nairobi told the BBC that the trend shifted from “big size” to “slim, tiny.”
Serena Williams starred in GLP-1 adverts for the telehealth company Ro and said she was down 31 pounds.
Oprah Winfrey is mentioned as having tried to lose weight for decades and then used the drugs.
The article includes an illustration by Hannah Buckman and invites reader responses via email.
Key figures
The author (Sudanese, not named in the article)
Serena Williams (tennis player, featured in GLP-1 adverts)
Oprah Winfrey (media personality, mentioned as using weight-loss drugs)
Miriam Boosh (reader from Carlow, quoted in a separate section)
David Bakare (reader from Roscommon, quoted in a separate section)
Sources: The Guardian
